Kingdom Anime: Final Chapter Prologue
by JoeMavro
Summary: The seventh installment in my Kingdom Anime series, set immediately after the events of Dream Drop Anime. After their disastrous Mark of Mastery test, Sora and Riku head out to make their own preparations for the upcoming battle with Xehanort and his followers. (Yeah, I can play your game too, Nomura! And I can play it better!)
1. The Grand Magic Games

Sora sped in the Gummiship he was borrowing toward the center of the galaxy where the biggest and most populated worlds were found. After how badly his Mark of Mastery test ended, he was determined to get stronger in any way that he could. Xehanort already had twelve Seekers of Darkness (himself included) while the realm of light only had five Keyblade wielders to defend it and Sora wasn't convinced that Kairi had what it took, not that he would dare to admit this to her.

He hoped that he was wrong, but he needed to be strong enough to protect himself and her if he wasn't, especially since all but one of the Guardians of Light would have two Seekers of Darkness to deal with. Sora had a lot of improving to do before he was ready to take on Xehanort (in any incarnation) again, so he would start by improving upon his best asset…his magic. He was already slightly ahead of Riku and Goku, who were more adept with Keyblade techniques. He was on par with Krillin in the area of offensive magic, but his defensive and support magic needed some work.

Thankfully, King Kai knew the perfect place for him to practice; it was a world called Earthland, and according to King Kai: it was positively alive with magical energy and home to many powerful magic-users. As he approached Radiant Garden, he was tempted to go and see how Lea was doing, but he remembered King Kai telling him that Goku was seeing to his training and decided it was best that he not interrupt. The ship's computer identified one of Radiant Garden's neighboring worlds as _Earthland._ It was a little bigger than Radiant Garden, was almost completely covered in ocean save for a single massive continent with a few smaller land masses very close to it. He made his descent through Earthland's atmosphere and approached the main continent's western peninsula. He spotted a high summit and landed on it, confident that no one would find it up here.

 _My piloting skills definitely don't need improving._ he thought smugly as he hopped out of the ship.

As he made his way down the summit, he could feel the magical energy tingling his skin. The sun was setting, so he made a few daring leaps down the mountain path and landed gracefully in the valley well before it got dark. The city before him was wide and filled mainly with houses and small establishments, but two large structures stood out. In the center was a white palace similar to the organization's castle, but far more ornate and nowhere near as foreboding. At the far west end of the city, sitting atop a small mountain-like formation was a massive gray coliseum (nowhere near as massive as the one in Spirit World, but still quite impressive) with four colossal statues of staff wielding mages positioned above the stands.

His head was now swimming with ideas; Maybe tomorrow, he would find some formidable magic-wielders and challenge them. Or maybe he'd shop around for items that could improve his magic (assuming such items even existed here). He really wanted to do something now, but he couldn't help it if it was evening on this world. He made his way toward one of the city's many large public gardens near the palace and heard a high-pitched shriek coming from it. He rushed into the garden and saw a diminutive man in a pumpkin mask surrounded by Neoshadows. He summoned his Kingdom Key, swung it in a clockwise motion and cast Stopza; every living thing in the garden was now frozen in time, everything but Sora, who stabbed each Neoshadow in the head. When time was back in motion, each Neoshadow burst into harmless black vapor and the masked man looked around in bewilderment at what his young rescuer had done.

"Oh, boy!" the man said in a high, mousy voice. "You saved my life, Kabo! What kind of magic was that?"

"Just a time spell." said Sora. "I didn't want to hit you by accident, so I used it to keep them from moving."

"I thought we'd seen the last of those creatures." the masked man sighed. "After what happened last time they appeared…" he let his words trail off, thinking Sora would know what he was getting at. Sora guessed he was talking about this world (like so many others) being taken by the darkness over a decade ago.

"Well…Fiore's wizards are a lot stronger since then, so maybe there's nothing to worry about." the man said. "So tell me, son, are you here for the games?"

"Games?" Sora questioned.

"The Grand Magic Games, son!" the masked man clarified. "The king announced the idea about a year ago. Four of the strongest guilds come together and compete in Domus Flau, the colosseum."

"To…decide which is the strongest guild?" Sora inquired.

"Well, mostly to celebrate our world being free from the darkness, but yep…that too!" said the masked man.

"How long will the games last?"

"Four days, why?"

"I'd love to compete…" said Sora. "But I can't join a guild just for that. I wasn't planning on staying here long anyway, so what's the point, right?"

"Well, technically there's no rule saying independent wizards can't compete," said the masked man. "although that may change over time. What's your name, son?"

"Sora."

"Alright, Sora. Wait here."

Sora obeyed and the masked man hurried to the palace. After a few minutes, he returned with five men who Sora presumed to be wizards, all clad in white and cyan robes.

"Sora," he said "if you can beat five Rune Knights in under five minutes, you can compete. What do you say?"

"Is that all?" Sora asked smugly, earning some really annoyed looks from the knights.

"Heh, heh…you're right." the masked man chuckled. "Do it without using your time spell. Do you want to back down?"

"No way," said Sora, summoning the Kingdom Key and attaching the Sleeping Lionkeychain. "I'm ready! Let's go!"

* * *

It was morning in Crocus and Natsu was totally pumped…or rather fired up.

"Man, I hope I get to go up against Lyon, or Bacchus, or maybe even Jura!" he said to his companions, Erza and Happy. "Let's face it, no one in Blue Pegasus is gonna be much of a challenge."

"That's not a nice thing to say, Natsu…" said Erza, her tone slightly less condescending than usual. "however true it may be."

"Well, Ichiya's kinda tough." said Happy in his usual cheeky tone. "But also kind of a doofus…so yeah, they're all goin' down."

"Did ya hear?" some old guy muttered as they passed by a cafe. "Some kid with a magical key-sword beat up five Rune Knights last night…an' he's gonna be competin' in the games today."

"You're pullin' my prosthetic leg." said the old guy's companion. "If this kid attacked the Rune Knights, why ain't he in jail, huh?"

"Aw, man!" said Happy nervously. "This kid sounds like a real meanie! An' I thought Erza was scary!"

"Am not." Erza grumbled.

"Heh, whatever…" Natsu snickered. "If I get into the ring with this kid, he's toast."

They made it all the way to Domus Flau where the rest of the Fairy Tail guild and its competitors were gathering. Once everyone was inside the colosseum, all competing wizards hurried to the board while their guildmates made their way casually to the stands. The list of competing wizards was as follows:

 _ **Fairy Tail**_

 _Erza Scarlet_

 _Natsu Dragneel_

 _Gray Fullbuster_

 _Lucy Heartfilia_

 _ **Lamia Scale**_

 _Jura Neekis_

 _Lyon Vastia_

 _Sherry Blendy_

 _Yuka Suzuki_

 _ **Blue Pegasus**_

 _Ichiya Kotobuki_

 _Hibiki Lates_

 _Ren Akatsuki_

 _Eve Tearm_

 _ **Quatro Cerberus**_

 _Bacchus Groh_

 _Rocker_

 _Jager_

 _Warcry_

and at the very bottom…

 _ **Independent**_

 _Sora_

"Independent?!" Sherry piped. "They're letting some rookie compete in the biggest event of the year?!"

"Apparently, this boy proved himself against the Rune Knights to compete." said Jura. "So we probably shouldn't take him lightly."

* * *

As the competing wizards went to join their guildmates and the spectators started pouring in, Sora stood waiting in one of the colosseum's corridors next to Doranbolt, one of the Rune Knights he beat to get into the games. Doranbolt was a young man probably around Leon or Cloud's age with short black hair, a stern, but otherwise unreadable face, and several scars on his face.

"Remember," said Doranbolt. "if you lose even one match, you're out of the games for good, so don't hold anything back. And you'll be in the presence of the King of Fiore and the few surviving members of the magic counsel, so try not to do anything stupid while you're here."

"You worry too much, Doranbolt." said Sora, lightheartedly.

Some time passed and once everyone was seated and settled, the announcer spoke.

"The first annual Grand Magic Games begins now!" he paused to allow a few moments of cheers from the masses of spectators and added "For our first match today, Ichiya Kotobuki of Blue Pegasus will face our independent participant, Sora the Keyblade Wielder!"

"Wish me luck." said Sora as he strode out into the arena.

"You probably won't need it, but good luck." said Doranbolt.

* * *

The Fairy Tail wizards watched as Ichiya of Blue Pegasus and Sora the Keyblade Wielder were called into the arena. Sora was the first to stroll out and everyone was able to get a good look at him on the floating lacrima screen. He was an average-sized boy in his mid teens with spiky caramel-brown hair, radiant sky-blue eyes, and a look of child-like innocence and wonder on his lean face. He was clad mostly in black, silver, and navy blue with a little burgundy and yellow here and there.

"Keyblade…" Levy mused as Ichiya marched into the arena. "I think I remember reading about that."

"Apparently, it's an otherworldly weapon that chooses its own wielder and wards off darkness." Erza stated.

"And according to legend, it chooses a youth from an unknown world to bring all worlds out of darkness." Master Makarov added. "I never gave the story much thought until now. But then, I can't imagine many who would."

"So that boy may not even be from this world?" Lucy wondered. "And suppose the story **is** true…does that mean **he's** the one we have to thank for bringing us all back?"

"Who knows?" said Master Makarov, folding his arms. "If we get the chance, maybe we could try asking him."

The gong sounded and Ichiya made the first move by whiffing two whole bottles magical perfume and growing into a hulking giant.

"Mua ha ha ha ha! Are you scared yet, little man?!" he roared hubristically.

Sora said nothing, but raised his right hand and in a flash of white light, a silver key-shaped sword with a broad, flat blade and what appeared to be a gun barrel embedded just above the hilt appeared. Sora pointed the strange weapon at Ichiya and fired a searing ball of crimson flame as he advanced on him. The fireball hit Ichiya's outstretched hand and he drew it back and started blowing on it.

"Pfft, I could make a bigger fireball than that in my sleep!" Natsu remarked.

"Yeah, and if you see a roasted kitty when you wake up, it'll be me." Happy jested.

Ichiya raised his other hand to smash Sora, but he stepped to the right to avoid the blow and Ichiya's fist met only ground, producing a shower of sand. Sora then ran up Ichiya's arm, flipped over his head, and pelted it with ice crystals. Ichiya staggered for a bit and fell to his knees, rubbing his head.

"Fire **and** ice magic?" Lucy observed. "Now I'm impressed!"

"Yeah, well, just cuz he knows different types of magic, doesn't mean he's mastered em' all, now does it?" Natsu pointed out.

"Natsu that's gotta be the dumbest…well, actually…that's the single smartest thing I've ever heard you say." Gray remarked.

Sora's Keyblade suddenly became coated in a thin layer of ice and he flung it at the back of Ichiya's head. Ichiya's whole head became encased in a shell of glistening bluish ice and he fell face-first into the sand. After a few moments passed and he didn't get up, Sora was declared the winner. Almost every spectator in the stands began cheering at the new underdog while nearly every competing wizard was silent.

"Ichiya always did fancy himself more of a lover than a fighter." Erza stated. "Disappointing, really."

"Yeah, right." Gray said smugly as paramedics strolled casually in and carried the unconscious Ichiya away. "You're just disappointed that you won't get to wail on him."

"Nonsense." Erza replied, folding her arms. "As long as Ichiya remembers the restraining order, I have no malice toward him whatsoever."

* * *

Sora stood in the shade of the entryway as Warcry of Quatro Cerberus went up against Eve Tearm of Blue Pegasus. Eve was a petite prettyboy, about Sora's age with blond hair, a short-sleeved white collared shirt, a white tie with blue stripes, and plain blue slacks. Warcry was an older man with a square jaw dressed in blue breeches and a cloak resembling a dog's pelt.

Eve waved his hand and sent a thick spray of snow over Warcry and much of the arena. Warcry really seemed to hate the cold, because he was now sniffling and in tears. For a moment, Sora wondered how such a wuss got into a wizard guild, until he let out an unearthly cry and charged at Eve. Before Eve could make a move to defend himself, he was knocked out cold by a single punch from Warcry.

The next fight played out even more strangely; it was Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus against Sherry Blendy of Lamia Scale. Ren was a young man with dark jaw-length hair, very tan skin, and dressed in a midnight blue suit. Sherry was a young woman with rich, wavy magenta hair. She wore a very revealing black and white top, a lavender cloth-band clasped around her upper torso, a black and white mini-skirt, and a headband with black cat ears attached.

Sherry used her magic to create a massive golem out of the sand, which Ren leapt and rolled away from. He then used a powerful gust of air magic to lift the golem off its feet. Sherry fell off, hit the sand, and her golem fell apart into a shower of useless sand. As soon as she got to her feet however, Ren surprised her and everyone watching by throwing his arms around her and trapping her in a passionate kiss. Sherry struggled for a moment or two before giving in and when Ren released her, she fell to the ground with a slightly intoxicated look on her face.

"And Ren wins by a…kiss-out?!" the announcer cried in disbelief.

The fourth and final match of the day was between Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster; a lean, yet muscular boy with fair skin, oily black hair, black slacks, and no shirt…and Lamia Scale's Yuka Suzuki; a young man with blue hair in a braided pony tail and a green sleeveless tunic over puffy gray pants.

Gray made the first move; he put his hands together and sent three large lances of solid ice at Yuka, who protected himself with a pale blue magic sphere. The announcer identified this as "wave magic" which nullified whatever magic came in contact with it. Yuka began firing his wave magic in the form of projectiles, but Gray either dodged them or blocked them with an ice sword (which quickly evaporated). It wasn't long before he was within striking distance of Yuka. Yuka fired one last projectile at Gray, which hit him dead-center, disabling his magic. But Gray didn't seem to need magic at that range, for when Yuka tried to kick him, he grabbed Yuka's ankle, flipped him backward, and kicked him in midair, sending him flying into the wall. Yells of praise and amazement erupted from the stands and Gray headed back to his cheering companions, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

That evening, Sora paced the suite Doranbolt got him, bored out of his mind. He already got a bite to eat at a café, exercise bored him and he really didn't need it, and they didn't have television on this world, though there was a movie lacrima, which–based on its description–was pretty close. He felt like finding another wizard to challenge, since Ichiya didn't give him much of a workout, but decided that since he was a guest here, he should really be on his best behavior. He looked out his window and spotted Doranbolt walking by, so he hopped down from his balcony to join him.

"What's up?" Doranbolt asked.

"I'm bored." said Sora. "Is there anything fun to do here?"

"Well, you could go drinking at Bar Sun." Doranbolt proposed. "That's probably where the other wizards are."

"Nah, I'm not really a drinker." said Sora. "Besides, I don't want anyone asking questions about me and the Keyblade just yet."

"Better get a good night's sleep, then." Doranbolt advised. "You'll probably have a much tougher opponent tomorrow."

Having said that, Doranbolt strode off and Sora hopped back up to his suite's balcony. He was too restless to sleep right now, but he could watch a movie or two on his lacrima.


	2. The Cold Emperor

Sora's eyes slowly opened, he looked at his clock, and saw that it was almost twelve thirty…he had slept through the start of today's games!

"Oh, crap!" he hissed.

Still dressed in his Keyblade Wielder's garb (save for his jacket, which he didn't bother to grab), he bolted out onto his balcony and leapt down into the streets of Crocus. He sprinted all the way to Domus Flau cursing to himself the entire way. He made his way to the stands and saw Doranbolt sitting a little higher up.

"What'd I…miss?" Sora panted as he rushed over to him.

"Hibiki from Blue Pegasus just beat Jager from Quatro Cerberus." Doranbolt briefed. "That was the first match, so you're fine."

Sora took a seat next to Doranbolt as Rocker from Quatro Cerberus and Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail were called to the arena. Lucy was a buxom young woman with blond pigtails and brown eyes. She was armed with a whip and wore a revealing white tube top with yellow lining and a blue heart on it, a collared vest with yellow lining, blue belle sleeves with white ruffles at the end, a navy blue miniskirt with a white belt, black leggings, and rather plain brown boots. Rocker was a rugged man clad in black leather with yellowish orange hair styled into two tufts. When the gong sounded, Rocker's entire lower body began spinning drill-like and he sped toward Lucy who cartwheeled out of the way and began lashing furiously at him with her whip. Rocker held up his arms to shield himself for the vicious lashes, then grabbed the whip and with a mighty swing, threw Lucy. She tumbled across the sandy ground, but was back on her feet in an instant with what appeared to be a golden key in her hand.

"Open, gate of the Golden Bull…Taurus!" she cried, and a large, muscle-bound white bull with a few black spots, a humanoid body and an oversized axe appeared.

"MMMMOO-OO-OO!" Taurus bellowed. "I know the lady's got a nice body, but you better give her some roo-oo-oom!"

He swung his axe with such speed and power that it sent a torrent of sand toward Rocker, who shielded his eyes and sped toward Taurus. His leg also started spinning like a drill and he managed to knock Taurus' axe toward Lucy, who gave a yelp and ducked. Rocker and Taurus matched fists and traded blows for a bit until Lucy thrust her whip toward Rocker and wrapped it tightly around his arms. Taurus lifted his fists to pound Rocker, but Rocker began spinning his lower body and drilled his way down through the sand. Sora guessed he was tunneling his way around Lucy, hoping to surprise her.

"Thanks, Taurus!" Lucy called to her protector. "Virgo will take it from here!"

Lucy held up the key she used to summon Taurus and he dissolved into particles of gold light and disappeared. She then pulled another key out of the leather pouch she kept attached to her belt as Rocker burst out of the ground behind her, clearly he wasn't quite skilled enough to pinpoint her. She leapt away from him, shouted "Open, Gate of the Maiden…Virgo!", and summoned another ally. This time it was a woman with short pink hair, a classic maid's outfit, and heavy chains and shackles on her wrists.

"Get him, Virgo!" Lucy commanded as Rocker went back underground.

"Yes, Princess." Virgo replied nonchalantly and drilled her way down after Rocker.

 _Princess?_ Sora thought?

A deep rumbling sound came from beneath the sand, it went on for a minute or two and then all was silent until Virgo clawed her way out of the sand, covered in bruises but victorious. Lucy was declared the winner and Sora actually had to cover his ears when screams of joy erupted all around him. Lucy gave Virgo a hug, and Virgo whispered something to her with an eager look on her face. Lucy suddenly looked creeped-out and sent Virgo back to wherever she came from. Sora's stomach gave a small gurgle, he wished he could get something in there, even something small, but he was going to be called down to fight before he knew it and didn't want to lose whatever he put in it.

"Erza Scarlet, the illustrious Queen of the Fairies will now face the champion of Quatro Cerberus, the Drunken Falcon, Bacchus Groh!" the announcer cried.

Sora covered his ears again as the crowd went absolutely wild again.

Bacchus was the first to make it down to the arena. He was a tall, lean, yet muscular man with slick black hair tied back in a bun. He was topless, save for a suit of high-collared blue armor that covered his arms and shoulders and wore dark gray breeches and blue soft-soled shoes. Erza marched out moments after him and Sora was awestruck by her beauty. She was quite tall for a woman and had a mane of Scarlet hair, which the sun's rays painted with fiery highlights. She had dark maroon eyes that looked as though they could pierce a man's soul and a look of stoic determination on her face. She wore a silver breastplate and pauldrons over a tight-fitting black t-shirt, matching silver armlets and gauntlets, a blue pleated skirt, and black knee-high leather boots.

"Mr. Yajima, I understand these two have something of a score to settle." the announcer said to his counterpart as Bacchus took a swig of something presumably alcoholic from the jug he carried.

"That's right." said the older man. "My sources say that every time these two fought in the past, it ended in a stalemate."

"Yeah?! Well times change! Ain't that right, Erza?!" Bacchus spat. "In fact, how 'bout we make a little bet!"

"Sure!" Erza called back to him. Her voice was deep and womanly, her tone firm but polite. "As long as it's nothing degrading or unreasonable, of course!"

"Well excuuuuse me, your royal hiney-ness!" Bacchus spat, now definitely drunk. "I just thought we could have dinner and a few drinks if I won! That sound _reasonable_ enough for you?!"

"Certainly!" said Erza. "And since you sound so confident…if I win, your guild's entire rum supply belongs to Fairy Tail!"

"Deal!" said Bacchus with a savage grin. "We got lots of other kinds of booze, anyway!"

Erza reached out with her right hand and conjured a silver broadsword with a cross guard shaped like a pair of wings as Bacchus darted toward her with his palms glowing white. Every time, she blocked one of his thrusts, it created a spout of sparks. Bacchus kicked her in the jaw, sending her stumbling back and in an instant, her sword was replaced by a halberd, which she tried to bring down on his head. Bacchus caught the halberd by the blade, gripped it tightly and hurled Erza over his head. Erza flipped in the air and gracefully landed a few yards behind him. She then produced a mace as Bacchus began chopping at her with her own halberd. She parried each chop with seconds to spare.

"Wow!" the announcer shouted. "The stones on this guy!"

Bacchus and Erza locked weapons for a few moments until Erza leapt away from him and became enveloped in pale cyan light. Bacchus darted toward her with her Halberd at the ready, but she zipped around him in the form of a cyan energy bolt. When she returned to human form, she was wearing a white robe with yellow embroidery, a pale blue chest plate with matching embroidery, pale blue pauldrons, armlets over dark gray gauntlets, pale blue greaves over dark gray boots, and a white ribbon in her hair, which was now in a braided ponytail. She jabbed the tip of the massive blue spear she carried into the back of Bacchus' neck and discharged a nasty surge of cyan lightning into him. Bacchus let out a jabbering cry and fell face-first into the sand. After a few moments, Bacchus stayed down and Erza was declared the winner. Sora stuck his index fingers in his ears as the crowd wailed with praise for Erza. Finally, Bacchus dragged himself to his feet, shook hands, with Erza, picked up his jug and dragged himself back to the stands.

"Our last match for today will commence after a fifteen minute intermission." said the announcer.

 _Great…_ thought Sora. _everyone but me gets to fill their stomachs and empty their bladders. But I've definitely survived worse._

He sat patiently for the intermission and once everyone was seated again, he was called down to the arena, followed by Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale. Sora's excitement for a good fight and eagerness to prove himself gave him the vigor he needed. With this sudden burst of energy, he hopped from the stands down into the arena and strode to the center as Lyon made his way out. Lyon was a young man with frosty white hair dressed in a sky blue tunic with a midnight blue mantle over his shoulders, dark gray slacks, and gray boots. He carried himself in a refined, almost aristocratic manner.

"I'm looking forward to this, Keyblade Wielder!" Lyon announced in a smooth, boyish voice. His tone–while full of smug confidence–had a certain debonair charm. "Shall we follow Bacchus and Erza's example and make a bet?"

"Alright." said Sora, as he summoned the Sleeping Lion. "What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, I'll have that Keyblade of yours!" Lyon declared, prompting a few gasps from the audience. "And as a consolation prize, you may join Lamia Scale…as _my_ pupil of course!"

"That's not your decision to make, Lyon!" an old woman's voice shrieked from high above.

"Fine!" said Sora, detaching the Sleeping Lion's keychain and attaching the Starseeker's.

 _He won't be able to use it, anyway._ he thought.

"But if I win, I want to be treated to lunch!"

"Really?" Lyon questioned. "That's all you want?"

Sora nodded.

"Alright, it's a deal!"

The gong sounded and Lyon raised his hands and sent a flock of birds at Sora…birds made of glistening ice. Sora raised the Starseeker above his head and shrouded himself in an Aeroga shield, which caused every ice-bird that touched it to shatter on impact. He dashed toward Lyon, and the ice wizard conjured a pair of panther-shaped ice sculptures, which took off toward him. Sora pointed the Starseeker between the two ice panthers and a yellow orb appeared above them, traveling with them as they ran. Two lightning bolts snaked down from the orb and both panthers were shattered. Sora leapt over their remains toward Lyon, who dove to the left just in time to avoid being struck.

"Fire, ice, wind **and** lightning…that's quite a bag of tricks you've got!" he exclaimed. "And I assume you have more!"

 _Yeah, but I want to save the good stuff for tomorrow's opponent…whoever it is._ thought Sora.

Sora shot three fireballs at Lyon, who blocked them with a massive ice-shield. The Starseeker then became enveloped in flame and Sora hurled it at Lyon's shield, causing it to split and fall to the ground.

Gray watched from the ledge as his old friend and rival struggled against the Keyblade Wielder. As soon as Lyon's ice-shield was broken, Sora's Keyblade appeared back in his hand and he tried to get up close and personal, but Lyon kept him at bay by making icy quills protrude from his body. Sora shot three more fire balls at the needles and his Keyblade was flaming again. He began furiously slashing the quills, burning away Lyon's defense again.

"It's like watching you and Natsu, only much more civil and far less annoying." Erza concluded.

"I guess so." said Gray. "Wonder what this kid's story is, though. None of us even heard of him until yesterday."

"Yeah, an' ever since he got here, he's been kickin' all kinds of butt." Natsu remarked. "Pretty soon, everyone's gonna be talkin' about him instead of us! Wouldn't that suck?"

Sora vaulted over the flying ice-dragon Lyon sent after him and attempted to cast Thundaga, but the dragon turned right around, grabbed him in its teeth, and lifted him into the air. Sora tried to chisel away its jaw, but it began shaking its head, causing him to drop the Starseeker. The dragon then dropped him and he landed on his back, the sand barely cushioning the fall. He looked up and saw Lyon walking toward him, holding the Starseeker…but Sora wasn't worried.

"An extraordinary weapon." he admitted. "If only it were ice or lamia-themed…then it would be perfect for me."

He lifted Sora's Keyblade to strike him, but suddenly his arm dropped. He grabbed the hilt with both hands, but it crashed to the ground and he could not lift it back up.

"C'mon, what's with this thing?!" he growled.

He kept trying feebly to lift the Starseeker, and it turned a bright burning red. He gave a painful shout and released it, staring down in shock at his now blistered hands. Sora summoned _his_ Keyblade back into his hand as Lyon's ice-dragon came crashing down behind him. He threw himself toward Lyon and dealt a few sharp blows to him, sending him tumbling back. He cast Aeroga again and produced a whirlwind underneath Lyon, a whirlwind so powerful that it sent him spiraling up into the air. He then juggled him for a moment by peppering him with fireballs and finished it with a powerful Thundaga bolt. Lyon hit the ground in a matter of seconds, covered in burns. Happy for the first time today, Sora offered the injured Lyon his hand. Lyon took Sora's hand graciously and Sora helped him to his feet. They took a moment to enjoy the cheers they were receiving and Sora helped Lyon back to the stands where his guildmates were waiting.

Sherry Blendy's cousin, Chelia, a petite girl with vibrant blue eyes and magenta hair like her cousin's used her magic to heal Lyon's wounds while the rest of Lamia Scale introduced themselves. Lamia Scale's master, Ooba Babasaama was an eldritch woman with long earlobes, her hair tied back into a loose bun, and a seemingly permanent scowl on her face. Despite this, she complemented Sora's impressive skills in a fairly pleasant voice and told him he would be a welcome addition to her guild. Sora politely turned down her offer and explained that he would be to leaving Fiore and returning to his home some time after the games ended. He remembered Yuka from his fight with Gray and Yuka introduced him to Toby, a dog-faced boy with a whiney voice and less than admirable people skills. Last and definitely not least was Jura Neekis, a large robed man built like a mountain. He had tan skin, a bald head, and a dark brown beard that went down past his chest.

"So, where do you want to go, Sora?" Lyon asked when he was healed.

"Someplace with a buffet!" Sora hastily replied.

"Okay, okay…" Lyon chuckled before addressing his guildmates. "See you guys later."


	3. Titania

Sora awoke at about eight that morning, more than enough time for a decent breakfast. He headed down to the café and had a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of banana-flavored milk. While he ate, a number of people congratulated him on his victory yesterday and wished him luck today. When he was finished, he walked around town for about an hour, letting his breakfast digest, and then headed to Domus Flau. He took a seat in the front row and it wasn't long before the other competing wizards arrived. Lyon and the other members of Lamia Scale (save for Master Ooba, who ignored him) offered him a quick wave as did a few of the Fairy Tail wizards and he returned the gestures. Once the spectators started pouring in, it wasn't long until the colloseum was full again.

"Day three of the Grand Magic Games will begin with Warcry of Quatro Cerberus and our rising star, Sora!" the announcer cried.

Once again, Sora leapt over the ledge and down into the arena while Warcry walked down. As the gong sounded, Sora stood with his hands on his hips waiting for Warcry to make the first move. Warcry didn't seem to like seeing Sora acting so calm. Tears started welling up in his eyes, his breathing got heavier and heavier, and finally he let out a dramatic howl as tears gushed from his eyes and his muscles started bulking up. He charged toward Sora, rolling his arms wildly, hands balled into fists. Once he was within a few feet of Sora, Sora summoned the Starseeker and pelted him with ice crystals. Warcry covered his face, but kept running, hoping to plow into Sora, but Sora hopped over him leap-frog style. The Starseeker became covered in ice and Sora flung it at Warcry, freezing him. Not one to gloat, he headed back up to his seat as paramedics carried Warcry away and Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail and Hibiki Lates from Blue Pegasus were called down. Natsu was a tall young man with spiky pale pink hair, muscular arms, and large, fierce dragon eyes. He wore a black knee-length tunic with gold lining and one sleeve, a white scarf, a white sirwal, and black sandals. Hibiki was a shorter, leaner young man with golden brown hair who wore a blue vest with white wing symbols emblazoned on it over a pink collared shirt with matching blue pants.

"Begin!" the announcer commanded.

Natsu wasted no time and sprinted toward Hibiki with his arms outstretched like a bird of prey and his fists engulfed in yellow and crimson flames. Hibiki waited until Natsu was within striking distance and held out his hand. Three magical screens covered in some kind of text appeared in front of Natsu and he was struck by an unseen force and sent sliding back. The look of shock on Hibiki's face told him that the attack was meant to do more damage, but before he could make another move, Natsu grinned from ear to ear, grabbed him by the arm, and hurled him into the air. He then jumped high into the air, did a back flip, and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him crashing down into the sand.

The next match was between Gray Fullbuster and Ren Akatsuki. Ren attempted to send Gray into the air with a blast of wind, but Gray protected himself in a dome of ice. He then produced a massive ice-cannon and fired an icy projectile at Ren. Ren dove to the left, but that didn't stop his legs from being frozen. Gray rushed over to him and bound him in an icy cocoon from his shoulders to his toes. He was carried away and Gray and Natsu bumped fists before returning to their comrades. After a fifteen minute intermission the fourth fight of the day was announced. It was between Jura Neekis from Lamia Scale and Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail. Sora happened to glance over at Lucy's guildmates and saw that a number of them looked rather concerned.

"This Celestial Wizard has risen through the ranks of Fairy Tail in such a short amount of time, but how long will she last against a Wizard Saint?" the announcer wondered.

 _Wizard Saint…_ Sora thought, _that's quite a title._

"You **have** come quite far since joining Fairy Tail, Lucy." Jura admitted "But the old hag will have my head if I allow anyone to beat me, I will hold nothing back."

"I'd be insulted if you did!" Lucy replied, seizing a bottle of water from her belt. She then held up one of her golden keys and poured some water over it.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer…Aquarius!" Lucy commanded and in a flash of golden light, a fair-skinned mermaid with a mane of ice-blue hair, deep sea blue eyes, and a long blue tail appeared.

"Lucy…how did you…?" Aquarius started to ask, but got her answer when Lucy held up the water bottle, grinning. "Huh, you really **are** smarter than you look!" she jested.

Aquarius waved the large vase she carried and sent a thick torrent of water at Jura, who put his hands together in a meditative fashion and raised several pillars of sand to shield himself. The sand pillars fell apart when the water hit them, but Jura only got a little soaked and didn't budge an inch. He held up his hand and a column of glistening stone sprouted up from underneath Aquarius knocking her into the air. Just before she landed, Jura darted forward with surprising speed for a man his size and thrust his palm into her abdomen, knocking her into Lucy. Aquarius vanished and Lucy got to her feet and put some distance between herself and Jura with a back flip and a few hand springs. She then whipped out another golden key.

"Open, Gate of the Lion…Leo!" Lucy shouted.

There was another flash of golden light and young man was standing between her and Jura. He was tall and slender, had untamed brownish orange hair with two cat ear-like tufts on top, a pair of blue tinted glasses, and a black suit with a wine-red tie.

"Stand back, beautiful!" Leo insisted, putting his hands together.

He unleashed a cluster of powerful light magic in the shape of a spectral golden lion at Jura, who protected himself by raising a thick rock wall, which shattered the instant the lion touched it. Leo leapt high into the air and hurled a barrage of golden orbs at Jura, but he shielded himself again, by erecting the earth around him and molding it into a suit of impenetrable-looking armor; it was the most amazing earth magic Sora had ever seen (not that he'd seen a whole lot of earth magic before). Leo's orbs impacted against Jura's armor, denting it a bit. The armor then swung its massive arms and swatted Leo out of the air like a fly. Leo hit the ground and Lucy waved his key, sending him back to wherever she summoned him from. Jura was about to bring one of his armor's massive fists down on her when…

"Wait! I surrender!" she cried.

The arms stopped mere inched from Lucy's head, Jura's armor quickly dissolved and he gave Lucy a quick bow. Lucy did the same and the two of them returned to their guildmates. Sora could see a tear creeping down Lucy's cheek; she must have thought she had a better chance against Jura. He really hoped that **he** wouldn't end up having to face him.

* * *

As soon as Lucy made it back up to the spot where her guildmates stood, she found herself in the loving arms of Mirajane.

"Everyone, I…" Lucy sobbed.

"No need for tears, Lucy." Makarov said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it was just one match." Gray added. "At least we got Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus out of the way."

"Thanks, guys." said Lucy, wiping her tears away.

"The final match of the day will be between Sora and Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail!" Mr. Lola announced.

"Lucy." said Erza, holding her friend close. "I'll win this for you, I promise."

As she headed down to the arena, she tried to think as quickly as she could. Her Flame Empress Armor could handle both Sora's fire attacks and his ice attacks, she had the perfect weapon against his lightning attacks as well. That just left his wind magic and whatever other surprises he was saving for today. She would have loved to see what else he could do, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She would end this as quickly as she possibly could, not just for Lucy, but for Natsu and Gray as well. Only by beating Jura could Fairy Tail win the games, and they were going to need her help.

* * *

Sora removed the Starseeker keychain and attached the Guardian Soul just as Erza marched out into the arena to meet him. She wore smooth, lustrous bluish black armor that left her upper chest and abdomen exposed (probably to serve as distraction) but had a large plate protecting each hip and a pair of dragon-like wings attached to the back. She was armed with a fair-sized broadsword that had a purple diamond-shaped hand guard with a red gem embedded in it.

"Begin!" the announcer commanded.

"Sorry about this, Sora." said Erza.

She spread her draconic wings and shot toward him at almost mind-boggling speed. Sora however flipped over her, narrowly avoiding being hit by her blade and whacked the back of her head with the Guardian Soul's blade. He unleashed one of his fiercest horizontal combos before Erza could recover and followed-up with a guard-piercing thrust that sent her flying back a few feet, but she was back on the offensive in an instant and swooping all around Sora, slashing at him from all sides. He parried each blow with absolutely no time to spare and the sheer force sent tremors up his arms. She surprised him by kicking him in the chest and sending **him** flying back. In as much time as it took to blink, she zoomed over to him, but Sora had a few surprises of his own. As soon as she tried to bring her blade down on him, he cast Reflega and sent it spinning out of her hand, then–rather than try to attack her physically–he cast Zero Graviga and sent her drifting helplessly into the air.

"…the hell is this?!" she shouted.

Sora brought her crashing down with Thundaga and waited sportingly for her to get to her feet.

"You shouldn't underestimate me just cause I'm new here." he warned.

"I didn't think I was…" said Erza, her voice and breath steady.

Sora pointed his Keyblade at Erza and launched three fire balls, so she enveloped herself in light and changed into another suit of armor: this one was red, gold, and black, left her upper chest, shoulders, and thighs exposed, and included claw-like gauntlets and talon-like greaves. Sora's fireballs didn't even make her flinch, so she waved the gold and red flamberge she wielded, sending a wave of fire at him, which he leapt high into the air to avoid. While in the air, he fired three ice crystals and his blade became covered in ice. He flung it at her as he landed, but she morphed into a bolt of cyan light, snaked her way around it, and returned to flesh and blood in her lightning-based armor. She fired a surge of cyan lightning at Sora, which he reflected back at her. She channeled the reflected lightning along her spear and sent it into the ground at his feet, producing a shower of sand. That was all the distraction, she needed.

Before Sora knew what was happening, Erza was speed-blitzing him, jabbing and kicking from all sides. Her attacks were so fast, all he could do was stagger until a powerful thrust from one of her swords sent him skittering like a stone on a lake. As soon as he looked up, Erza was speeding toward him in yet another outfit. This one was mostly yellow and blue with cheetah ears and a cheetah-pattern tube top. Sora desperately hurled his Keyblade and it hit her right between the eyes. She clutched her forehead and stumbled back as Sora jumped to his feet. He kept flinging his Keyblade and resummoning it; aiming for her head, her knees, and her torso. She managed to parry it each time with one of her twin swords, just barely. But then Sora started moving closer and started launching fire, ice, and lightning. He was waiting for Erza to change into a heavy armor (which he had the perfect weapon against), but instead, she zipped around him and struck him again from behind, knocking him to the ground. While he was down, he covertly removed the Guardian Soul keychain and attached the Fenrir. He bolted upright expecting her to rush him again, but was shocked to see her clad in a silver and white armored gown with dozens of swords floating above her, all pointed at Sora.

"Playtime is over, Sora!" she shouted.

He knew what she was going to do from his and Riku's fight with Xemnas, so he readied himself.

* * *

Master Makarov couldn't believe what he was seeing; this boy was giving his best fighter a run for her money, despite the noticeably large difference in their strength and experience. He deflected _almost_ every sword she sent rocketing toward him and when she sent the remaining ten at him, he reflected them with a spell. When it was over, he was bruised and bleeding from where each sword struck him, an ordinary boy wouldn't be in one piece after that, much less standing. She dashed toward him with her twin broadswords at the ready, he probably could have met her assault head-on with the heavier Keyblade he wielded, but he cast another spell instead. A lucid black dome surrounded Erza and she collapsed, sinking into the sand…some kind of gravity magic? Sora dashed toward her, ready to deliver a finishing blow, but leapt back when his spell wore off and Erza bolted upright. Erza changed into her Morning Star Armor and had a look of fury on her face that would have frightened even the most hardened warriors, Sora looked scared for the first time. She put her twin swords together and they began to glow a brilliant golden glow, she was going to finish this with her Photon Slicer technique.

"Oh, yeah!" Happy shouted. "Erza's always gotta end a fight with style!"

* * *

Sora stood trembling as Erza put her gladius swords together and they began to glow. He'd been in enough fights to know that she was going to fire an energy blast at him and he had a feeling it would be too powerful to reflect. He knew but one surefire way to stop her…to stop _everything_. He waved the Fenrir in a clockwise motion and cast Stopza as Erza unleashed a massive beam of golden energy. All time within the arena was halted and Sora dashed around the frozen beam and toward Erza. He probably should have healed himself, but he needed his remaining magic to finish Erza off.

"Time magic too?!" the announcer cried. "Oh no!"

Sora struck Erza in the head, in the shoulder, in the abdomen, and followed-up with _Explosion._ At that moment, time in the area started back up again. Erza's beam hit only the wall behind the spot Sora _had_ been standing in and she felt the full force of all of his attacks at once! She was sent flying back yet again and gasps of shock and alarm erupted all over the colloseum. For a moment, it looked as though Sora had beaten Erza, but after a few moments, she rose once again, bruised, bleeding, and burned, but still very awake…and Sora had completely exhausted his magic.

"No way…" he breathed.

"What's wrong?" said Erza, smiling for the first time. "All out of tricks?"

Sora was almost certain that he was beaten, but he wasn't about to go down quietly. He hurled himself at Erza and their blades clashed, producing a spray of sparks. Sora swung for Erza's ankles, but she jumped just in time. Erza swung for Sora's head, but he ducked in the nick of time. They locked blades again and Sora began pushing Erza back on her heels, but she suddenly tossed one of her swords into the air. Before he could figure out what the hell she was doing, she gripped her other sword with both hands and pushed back, forcing Sora to one knee and before he could make another move, she reached out, caught the sword she tossed, and struck him hard in the temple with it.

* * *

Erza stood over Sora, waiting for him to get up again. The pumpkin-masked referee counted to ten, but Sora didn't budge. For a moment, Erza feared that she had gone too far, but mercifully, Sora was still breathing. Numerous spectators were shouting for him to get up, so the ref continued counting to twenty, but still Sora stayed down. Finally, Erza was declared the winner. As virtually everyone in the colloseum began cheering and chanting her name, she re-quipped into some casual clothes.

"Erzaaa!" a voice she knew and loved shouted behind her.

She turned around and saw Lucy running toward her with tears pouring down her face (tears of joy, this time). She threw her arms around Erza, nearly knocking her over. Erza held Lucy as tight as she could with what little strength she had left and turned her head to watch the paramedics carrying Sora away on a stretcher. No opponent had ever given her as much trouble as he did (at least none of the ones she had beaten). He was an extraordinary young man; she hoped he would decide to stay for a while so she could learn a little more about him.


	4. The Grand Ball

The infirmary was bright when Sora awoke, but a curtain beside his bed was drawn to keep the light from disturbing him. When he got out of the bed, he found that his body was free of pain and all of his injuries were gone. He may have lost, but the trip to Earthland was definitely a rewarding one. He came to improve his skills with magic and that was just what he did. He'd also met an incredible swordswoman. Erza was as strong as Saïx, as fast as Sephiroth, as intimidating as the false Ansem, and a brilliant strategist, just like Riku.

"Good, you're awake, Kabo!" said a familiar mousy voice.

The referee in the pumpkin mask was standing before Sora.

"What time is it?" Sora muttered.

"It's a little after noon." said the referee. "Erza, Natsu, and Gray went up against Jura and he just beat all three of them."

"I bet Erza lasted the longest, huh?"

"Actually, Natsu lasted just a little bit longer." said the ref. "Those Dragon Slayers are a tenacious bunch."

"So…what now?" asked Sora. "Is there gonna be an award ceremony or something?"

"Even better!" the ref squeaked. "There's gonna be a grand ball at the palace this evening and every wizard, including you is invited!"

"A ball, huh?" said Sora, a tad nervous. "Will I have to wear fancy clothing and dance with girls?"

"You betcha!" the referee replied. "Better rent something nice to wear while you can!"

Sora took the ref's advice and headed into town, where he found a boutique that sold and rented out formal outfits. It was small, but offered a decent selection. He picked out a plain, high-collared red tunic with a matching red belt, black trousers, and shiny black boots. He'd actually never worn formal clothes before (it was never really called for on his home-world) but he thought he looked pretty good when he changed into the outfit.

* * *

From a lonely runaway, to a member of the best guild ever, to an honored guest at Mercurius, the Flower Light Palace…life was grand for Lucy Heartfilia. The ballroom was mostly pearl-white with gold and bronze molding. Natsu and Happy went straight for the generous banquet while Gray chatted with Lyon and Cana had a few drinks with Bacchus. When it came time to dance, Lucy immediately grabbed Natsu. Mirajane took Fried, Lyon took Chelia, and Sherry of course took Ren, followed by Bisca and Alzack. Cana took Bacchus, Evergreen took Elfman, Levy alternated between Jet and Droy to keep them from fighting over her. Lucy summoned Plue to dance with Happy (just so he wouldn't feel left out) and everyone else seemed content to observe…everyone except Erza, who looked rather glum; obviously no one had the courage to approach her. Suddenly, her face lit up and she surprised everyone by taking Sora's hand. His face turned a bright magenta as she ushered him to the dance floor.

"But I don't know how!" Sora hissed to her.

"Just do what I do." said Erza giddily.

Almost all eyes were now on Erza and Sora, it looked as though she should have been a little gentler with him, but she looked so happy that no one said a word. When the dance was over, everyone was called to attention as the King himself, Tome E. Fiore entered with his daughter, Princess Hisui at his side. Everyone was instructed to convene in the dining hall and once everyone was seated and served, the King was the first to raise his glass.

"The first annual Grand Magic Games were a success." he declared. "A toast to the wizards who fought so hard… _and to the boy who saved my life, Kabo!_ " he added in a familiar mousy voice, that made everyone chuckle.

"Sora…" said Erza, who was seated next to him. "is that true?"

"Yeah, I did save him from the Heartless when I got here." said Sora "No big deal, really."

"It most certainly is!" one of the King's bodyguards said.

"I–and everyone else I'm sure–would like very much to hear of your journeys and what brought you to our world…er…I mean, our kingdom." said the King.

"World?" one of the guests exclaimed. "Did he just say world?"

Sora looked from the King (who looked somewhat guilty) to the other guests around him.

"It's true." he said. "I came here from another world. That's why I couldn't join your guild...sorry." he added, addressing Master Ooba.

* * *

Sora began telling his host and all the other guests about his first journey; he told them how the darkness came to his island, how he was swallowed by it, how he ended up in Traverse Town and met his new friends, and how he went from world to world, sealing keyholes and looking for Riku and Kairi. He told them how Riku sided with the Heartless to try and get Kairi's heart back, how he took the Keyblade from him, and how he was forced to fight him when the Keyblade came back to him. He reluctantly told them about Xehanort, how he took control of Riku's body, and what he was forced to do to free Kairi's heart…which was inside him all along.

"I couldn't think of any other way to get it out of me…" he said, scratching his head, "so I picked up Xehanort's Keyblade and stuck it in my heart."

"Didn't it…hurt?" asked the blue cat called Happy, after a stunned silence from everyone.

"Actually, I didn't feel any pain." said Sora. "I just remember feeling numb and cold…that was the scariest part…but I saw Kairi's heart leaving me and going back to her body so…I guess it was worth it."

"Oh, wow..." said Lucy. "That's the saddest, sweetest thing I ever heard. "That Kairi is one lucky girl."

"I'm so proud of you, Sora." Erza said sweetly, putting her arms tightly around him.

"Risking your own life for the woman you love, that's about as manly as you can get!" the hulking, white-haired man called Elman shouted, raising his mug.

"Now, everyone." said Master Makarov. "Don't embarrass him. Please continue, Sora."

"Right." said Sora as Erza released him." "Well, I left my body behind for a short time…" Sora went on, "then I got it back, I still have no idea how. After I took care of that world's keyhole, I went back into the darkness–with my friends this time–so we could deal with Xehanort. We tried really hard to beat him, but he could take more punishment than we could. He found what we call the Door to Darkness and opened it. He wanted darkness, I wanted light, and somehow I ended up getting my wish. Light poured out of the door, Xehanort disappeared, and Riku reappeared. Then he helped me close the door and we found our way home…after a while."

"Does that mean those _Heartless_ creatures can no longer threaten our world?" the King inquired.

"I think so." said Sora. "I have another big battle to fight, though. That's why I came here, I wanted to get better at magic…maybe learn some new magic, if I could."

"We'd be happy to teach you a little of our magic." said Master Makarov. "After you saved our world, I think it's the least we can do. We're all going to have some fun first, though. I'm sure we'd all love for you to join us."

"Sure." said Sora, smiling. "It has been a while since I've had fun that didn't involve fighting bad guys and killing monsters."


	5. Enma Ai

Kairi's fourth day of training was over and she was home, probably in bed by now. For the first two days, Riku taught her to fight with her Keyblade. She moved with grace and precision and had surprisingly high defense, but had a ways to go before she was as fast and strong as Riku and Sora were. On her third day, King Kai introduced her to basic spell-casting. By the end of the day, she was proficient in Fire and Blizzard, she was very proficient in Thunder (Thunder being light magic and her being a Princess of Heart probably had something to do with it). Cure–interestingly enough–was the one spell she did perfectly on her first try. Today, she practiced more with Fire, thunder, and Blizzard, with Riku as her sparring partner. Though still a long way from mastering the spells as Sora and Riku had, she had definitely improved. She questioned why Riku wasn't going home with her, and Riku simply replied that he had better things to do than sleep.

The Guardians of Light needed two more members; their names were Aqua and Ventus. Aqua was a young woman with blue hair (Riku had a feeling he saw her once) and Ventus was a boy with tufts of blond hair. King Kai had no idea where Ventus was, but said he briefly sensed Aqua's aura emanating from the realm of darkness, so that was where Riku was heading. King Kai tried to dissuade him, but Riku had spent more time in the darkness than any of them. If anyone could handle the trip, it was him. He had power over the darkness, but it had no power over him anymore…physically or mentally. He wielded darkness as his weapon, but chose to fight on the side of light, that was sure to complicate Xehanort's plan and knowing this gave him great satisfaction.

As he sank deeper into the abyss of darkness, he spied a mass of rocky gray land lined with glowing pale blue minerals. Riku landed softly on the land mass and began looking around. There were a few rocky hills here and there, and clouds of red and violet neon gas in the distance. It would have been a discouraging sight to most, but Riku had nothing to fear, he was just as comfortable in the darkness as he was in the light…no more and no less. As he proceeded toward the swirling gaseous tunnel, he received his first welcome; three Shadows and a Darkball appeared. Riku summoned the End of Pain and launched three ice crystals at the Darkball, incasing it in an icy tomb. He swatted the first Shadow away, causing it to go tumbling through the void, and then reduced the other two to black vapor in two swipes of his blade. It wasn't long before ten more Shadows and two Neoshadows appeared.

"Just you guys?" Riku said with a smug smirk.

He threw his Keyblade like a boomerang, willing it to slice through the first drove of Shadows and picked off the second drove with fireballs. He wasn't quite the sharpshooter Sora was, but not a single Shadow made it near him. The Neoshadows scampered toward him with panther-like grace and speed, but he sliced through their antennae, necks, elbows, and knees with lightning speed and surgical precision. He then ran them through in less than a second. He and Sora were on par with each other when it came to magic, but Riku was still the better swordsman. He had used a style based on fencing for most his life, but once he got his new Keyblade, he had been forced to change his technique with a little help from Goku. Goku was a specialist in the classic Keyblade Form II, an aggressive style that consisted of mainly horizontal strikes. Once Riku became proficient in it, he began in incorporating bits of his fencing style into it, keeping in mind what Sora had taught him about being as creative and unpredictable as possible.

Riku walked on for the better part of an hour, dispatching the occasional Shadow or Neoshadow, looking for any kind of structure that might have had a person trapped inside. He reached a deep fissure filled with glowing purple domes growing out of the walls like pustules. Two of the domes broke and Darkballs began rising out. Riku feared that more would awaken if he destroyed these, so he cast Stopza, jumped over the fissure, and ran for it. He ran until he got to an area shrouded in gray and violet fog and filled with what looked like dead gray trees. He could sense no Heartless here, but there was another dark presence…he couldn't tell if it was living or not. He treaded into a clearing and saw a girl in her early teens dressed in a black flower-patterned kimono waiting for him. Her skin was like porcelain, her hair was like ebony, and her eyes were the color of fresh blood. In her right hand she held a black straw doll with a red ribbon around the neck.

"Good evening, Riku." she said in a soft, but deathly cold voice. "My name is Enma Ai and my master has sent me to propose a deal."

"Is that right?" said Riku. "Well, I've learned not to make deals with suspicious characters."

"We know of your trouble with the Keyblade Master named Xehanort." said Ai, as though she hadn't heard his reply. "And we can get rid of him once and for all."

She held up the straw doll.

"Take the doll, Riku." she said, her voice and face devoid of any emotion. "When you are ready, speak the name of your tormentor, remove the thread from its neck, and I will ferry him to Hell…where my master will consume his soul."

"What exactly do I have to do in return?" asked Riku, certain he wasn't going to like the answer.

"You do not have to do anything now…" said Ai, "however…when you die…your soul will also be ferried to Hell. You will not suffer as Xehanort will, but you will remain there for eternity and serve my master."

"Sounds like a lousy deal." said Riku, and Ai's face betrayed a subtle hint of surprise.

"Do you not understand what I am offering you, Riku?" she asked. "I am offering you a way to protect your friends and family without fighting."

"My friends and I can beat Xehanort ourselves." said Riku. "After we beat him, I plan on having a long and happy life with them, and a long, happy afterlife too, so my answer's _no_."

He walked past her and prepared to head deeper into this wilderness, but came to a stop when he saw her standing before him again.

"I'm afraid, I cannot allow you to leave." she said stoically. "The Master of Hell desires the soul of a Keyblade Master and I cannot return to him without one."

She levitated a few feet off the ground, held out her left hand, and produced a ball of dark energy.

"You don't want to try that." Riku warned.

"I am very sorry, Riku…" said Ai, her tone betraying only the smallest hint of regret, "but you will have to die."

She hurled the dark orb at him, but he sent it right back at her with Reflega. She teleported just in time and he sensed another dark projectile coming right at him. He whirled around and parried it, then launched three ice crystals at her, which she seemed undaunted by. She waved her right hand and from out of nowhere, a wave of pale orange flame came toward him. He jumped to avoid it, but she zoomed in front of him and unleashed a torrent of darkness that sent him flying into a nearby tree. Though resistant, even Riku was not immune to darkness when it was weaponized. He got to his feet and unexpectedly found himself in the beach shack on Sora's island. Sora and Kairi were holding him tightly, he began struggling and their flesh started decaying, an obvious illusion like this couldn't frighten Riku, so he beheaded the phantom Sora and Kairi and cast Thundaga. The illusion was shattered and he was back in the clearing with Ai, who was mildly burned and backing away from Riku. She raised her hands to fire another dark blast, but Riku sank into a portal to escape it. Portals opened all around Ai and Riku proceeded to dart out from one and into another, slicing into her each time. Finally, he plunged his blade into the ground and produced a geyser of black and amber flame, which knocked her off her feet and singed her. Before she could get up, he pressed the tip against her throat. Her face was calm and still, but there was now some definite concern in her eyes.

"Tell your master, if he wants me, he'll have to come and get me himself."

Before Ai could make another move or even reply, Riku struck her hard in the side of her head with the back of the blade, knocking her out cold. He knew he wasn't going to find Aqua like this, so he would try again tomorrow. He pointed his Keyblade upward, opened a golden portal leading back to Destiny Islands, and jumped through.


	6. The Chaser

Sora wandered through the streets of an empty, grimy city under a sea-green sky. The last thing he remembered was traveling to the space market where he met Spike Spiegel and Nabeshin. His first stop was a game shop, where he bought a copy of SAO and a Kirito figure. He then went to the food court for some takoyaki and headed back outside, toward his ship…next thing he knew, he was here. Suddenly, a horde of creatures stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley. They looked just like Neku Sakuraba's Necho Cat, only with white and black fur and blood-red eyes.

"Wha…" Sora gasped.

Each Necho Cat became enveloped in a hazy purple aura and they all advanced on Sora with their teeth bared as their flesh began to decay and scab. Sora reached out to summon his Keyblade, but for some reason it didn't appear, so he ran.

 _From now on…_ He thought, _when I see a big empty city, I'm just gonna turn around and leave._

He kept running, not daring to look behind him even once for fear of stumbling. He spied a large construction site, the perfect place to get away from the Necho Cats, and maybe spot an easy way out of this city. He rushed inside and leapt up some I-beams to the very top of the highest structure. He looked down and saw close to a hundred nightmarish Necho Cats circling the structure.

"What the hell is going on?" he breathed.

"What indeed, boy?" an apathetic voice rasped from behind him.

The voice sounded just barely human, it sent a jolt of panic through Sora's heart, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall. He turned around slowly and saw a red-cloaked figure standing before him. Its blood-red cloak was tattered and fell down to its ankles. It wore a mask resembling a featureless face with black slits for eyes and a skeletal mouth. Its body was humanoid, but covered in dark gray fur and he could make out a long cat-like tail twitching behind it.

"Permit me…I am known as the Chaser and I have been watching you for some time, Keybearer." the creature grumbled. "Each time you enter this realm, you become more self-aware…but you also become more susceptible to supernatural influences and afflictions, don't you?"

Sora detected a faint touch of glee in that last statement, as though this creature were savoring his helplessness. Sora faltered again as it took a step toward him, chuckling slightly.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Sora asked, careful not to sound too demanding. "What do you want, my Keyblade?"

"Ah…you've made a logical assumption." said the Chaser, sounding more analytical now. "But no…what I desire is…your body."

"Uh…" said Sora, not bothering to try and hide his nervousness, "Sorry, but I'm not into _that_."

"Heh heh heh, funny." The Chaser retorted. "No, boy…you see, we dream demons are normally content in our own realm, but every so often we feel like moving about your realm as well. The only way this can be accomplished…is by inhabiting a human body."

He reached out with his left gloved paw and conjured a large saw-like weapon with two serrated edges.

"As this is **my** domain, I have taken the liberty of restricting your use of the Keyblade." he explained, a subtle hungriness in his tone. "But like any self-respecting cat, I always play with my food before eating it, so I'll give you a chance to run…now, run."

Sora whirled around, he leapt onto a nearby crane and then to the nearest building; there was almost no thought process, he was simply trying to get as far away from where the Chaser was standing in as little time as possible. He hopped onto a dumpster and began scurrying through some allies.

"I see everything in this city, boy." the Chaser's voice echoed around him. "There's nowhere to hide, so just keep running. And if you approach the city limits, you're in for a nasty surprise."

As Sora dashed out of an alley, he saw that he was indeed approaching the city limits and hundreds of Necho Cats were positioned there, ready to swarm Sora if he came too close. He came to a halt and turned around to see the Chaser strolling toward him.

"The chase ended sooner than I had hoped," he grumbled, "so I think I'll give you a chance to defend yourself. Go on, summon your Keyblade."

"You sure you wanna let me do that?" Sora taunted. "When someone underestimates me, it never ends well for them!"

"I control everything in this space." said the Chaser, not sounding concerned in the slightest. "And my legion is waiting to rip you to pieces if you try anything I disapprove of. So…who is underestimating whom?"

Sora parried the Chaser's vicious chops with almost no time to spare and was sent flying back toward the mob of corrupted Necho Cats, who lunged forward and head-butted him back toward the Chaser. Sora rolled aside to avoid an overhand chop and tried casting Blizzaga, but could produce no ice, not even a shard. He noticed a bunch of Necho Cats being propelled into the air and in moments, someone he never expected to see again barreled through the horde…it was his Spirit familiar, Meow Wow!

"What is the meaning of–Rrrgh…!"

Meow Wow rocketed toward the Chaser and sunk his tiny teeth into the demon's weapon-arm. The Chaser grabbed the scruff of Meow Wow's neck and threw him aside like a toy and Sora darted toward him and sliced his other arm off in retaliation. Wisps of black smoke began pouring out of the open wound. Before the Chaser could strike back, Sora sliced him across the waist and managed to send him flying back with a blast of lightning. He dismissed his Keyblade and Meow Wow jumped into his arms. He looked at the wounded dream demon and then at the buildings and sky, which were turning black. One by one, the Necho Cats were disappearing as well.

"Looks like the party's over, pal." said Sora.

The Chaser only chuckled. "I always get what I want eventually, boy. You'll see me again soon…just you wait."

" _Hey…buddy…"_

The entire city dissolved into a storm of black and violet and then nothing but blackness surrounded Sora.

"Hey, buddy!" an impish voice barked.

Sora felt a rapping on his shoulder and lifted his head. He was still in the food court, the bag containing his game and his figure still rested at his feet, and his plate was still in front of him with one takoyaki ball remaining. Standing before him was a petite girl around his age. She had a mane of cobalt blue hair with a single cow-lick on top , aqua green eyes, and a cute, yet carefree smile. She wore a pale blue panda sweater and carried an extra large body pillow with a lingerie-clad Haruhi Suzumiya emblazoned on it.

"You feelin' okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Sora yawned, grabbing his bag. "Thanks for waking me."

"No prob." the girl replied, her tone a tad more bubbly. "You gonna eat your last takoyaki ball?"

"Nah, you can have it." said Sora as he hurried to his ship.

Sora had had some pretty ominous dreams in the past, but after his experiences in the dream-version of the Organization's world and the wakeless abyss the four Xehanorts had plunged him into, he wasn't about to let this get out of hand. He had enough to worry about with Xehanort and his followers, the last thing he needed was a dream demon preying on him every time he dosed off, Riku and King Kai needed to know at once.


	7. Sora vs Riku

Riku emerged from a dark portal and stepped onto King Kai's turf. He had explored more of the dark realm looking for the one called Aqua, but found nothing but the occasional Heartless. He entered King Kai's house and found him talking with Sora.

"My knowledge of these creatures is limited, my boy." he croaked. "There are a number of techniques you can use to quiet your mind before sleep, but I don't know how helpful they'll be."

"What's going on?" Riku asked.

"A demon attacked Sora in his sleep." King Kai explained.

"A demon?"

"Yes, a dream demon." said King Kai. "They dwell in the Realm of Dreams, as the name suggests and use living beings as vessels so they can interact with the physical world. Sometimes the vessel is a willing participant, and sometimes it is not."

"Did the demon hurt you?" he asked, addressing Sora.

"No." said Sora, and Riku could tell he was telling the truth. "He tried to weaken me so he could take my body, but I fought back and he told me I'd see him again. My Dream Eater was there too, the demon seemed surprised to see him."

Riku took a few moments to contemplate what Sora had just told him and said. "Your Dream Eater always seems to be there for you when you need it, right?"

"Yeah, except when I was…you know…" Sora replied, no doubt alluding to when he was under Xehanort's control.

"But you had me to bail you out." said Riku, trying to sound comforting, but well-aware of how smug he must have sounded. "Everywhere where you go, you meet someone who can help you when you can't help yourself, so I wouldn't let this demon scare me if I were you."

"I'll try." Sora sighed. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Riku retorted.

"King Kai told me you've been going to the dark realm to look for that Aqua girl."

"Yeah." said Riku. "Nothing down there but Heartless though."

"You should've waited for me to get back so I could go with you." said Sora.

"I'm a Keyblade Master, remember?" asked Riku with a tight grin. "A few Heartless aren't gonna be a problem for me and the darkness doesn't scare me anymore either."

"Yeah, well…it still scares me." Sora grumbled.

"Heh, then you would've just gotten in the way if you went with me." Riku taunted.

For a moment, it looked as though Sora wanted to reach over and punch Riku, but he then adopted a more competitive and daring look.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you." Sora retorted. "I may not be a master, but I'm still the better fighter."

"Oh, you think so?" Riku chuckled. "Care to prove it?"

"Anytime, anywhere!" said Sora, the angst and worry now gone from his voice.

"Alright." said Riku. "How about tomorrow morning in Radiant Garden…the castle courtyard?"

"Sounds good." said Sora.

* * *

Goku, Gohan, Krillin, King Kai, Lea, and Kairi stood on a balcony overlooking the courtyard. Lea wanted to enjoy the fight up close, but Kairi insisted that Sora and Riku could do their best work if they didn't have to worry about stray spells hitting their friends.

"Who do you believe is gonna win this one, Kari?" asked King Kai.

"A year ago, I would've bet on Riku." said Kairi. "But now, I'm not so sure."

King Kai then turned to Lea.

"What about you, Lea? You've seen both of them in action."

"I never actually fought Riku, but he had to have been pretty strong to beat Lexaeus and Roxas, an' I assume he's gotten even stronger." said Lea. "I guess it all depends on how much Sora learned in that _Earthland_ place."

"My thoughts exactly." said Goku as Sora and Riku strode into the courtyard. "And I'm sure he's learned quite a bit."

* * *

Riku marched through the courtyard and came to a stop in the center to meet Sora.

"I want you to pick the Keyblade you're most comfortable with and stick with it, agreed?"

"Of course." said Sora. "That's what I was planning."

He summoned his Kingdom Key as Riku summoned the End of Pain. Riku made the first move by darting forward like a phantom and doing an overhand slash. Sora surprised him by leaning to the right and jabbing him in the side. Riku shook off the pain and kept slashing and thrusting; Sora surprised him again by using his blade to redirect his attacks. He sent his slashes slanting away slightly and used sharp blows to knock his thrusts off course enough that he suffered only a few minor grazes. He then slid around Riku and attempted a power thrust, which Riku barely parried. Before he could retaliate, he was swept up in a gust of wind and Riku instinctively cast Reflega, thinking Sora was going to jump up and strike him, but the moment he did, (maybe a split-second before) Sora launched a mass of writhing flame. The reflective barrier worked as Riku hoped and Sora's fire was reduced to useless embers. Riku released his Keyblade and sent it spinning toward Sora, who rolled in time to avoid the impact. He pointed his Keyblade at Riku's head and Riku dove to the right, thinking he was going to launch another fire-projectile or maybe one of ice. He instead heard a loud _zap_ and briefly glanced left to see a small, round, smoking scorch mark in the ground, the kind made by lightning bolts. Riku had dueled Sora more times than he could count and knew his methods pretty well, but it pleased him to see Sora could still surprise him.

* * *

Misdirection and surgical precision had always been Riku's best assets, but he was beginning to rely just as much on overwhelming force and blinding speed. Sora was forced to use Riku's methods to fend off his powerful strikes and magic was no longer his advantage. He thought for sure his fire-spell would catch him off guard. He then thought he could blindside him with a lightning bolt; he figured Riku would expect him to launch more fire and try to parry it…but no…Riku did the smart thing and got the hell away from where Sora was aiming his Keyblade. He jumped to his feet and pointed his Keyblade at Riku, who was approaching him slowly; ready to dodge or counter anything Sora sent his way. What his friends in Earthland taught him was proving true; sometimes what mattered wasn't what kind of magic one used so much as how one used it. His mind briefly flashed back to when Gray and Lyon took him to a frigid mountain peak and schooled him in ice-magic. Ice lacked the destructive power of other elements, so creativity was an ice-wielder's saving grace in battle.

He leapt back, putting quite a few yards between himself and Riku. He then fired three ice crystals and willed them to form into arrows. In a matter of moments, Riku was either going to evade or block them. It didn't matter which, because Sora had a surprise in store for him. Riku leapt back and shattered Sora's ice-arrows with fireballs. Just as he landed, Sora pointed his Keyblade at his feet and a faint blue glow formed under them. A small iceberg shot upward out of the ground and knocked Riku into the air. He landed on the stone-tiled floor with a smack and got right back up. A dark portal opened in front of him and he dove in. Sora impulsively whirled around to strike Riku, but he wasn't there. A sharp blow from behind knocked Sora forward and he rolled just in time to avoid another. He either underestimated Riku's cunning or overestimated how precisely he could place his portals. Either way, Riku had him on the defensive again. He used his improved strength and precision to redirect Riku's first few strikes as he did before and then cast Reflega to deflect a more powerful one. Riku's blade went spinning out of his hand and Sora prepared to freeze his legs, but he grabbed Sora's arm and threw him to the floor. He re-summoned his blade and pointed it at Sora's chin.

"Give up, yet?" he asked.

"Yeah…" Sora lied. "Sorry, I can't keep going."

"Oh, you're **gonna** keep going!" Goku's voice shouted.

An enormous ball of pale orange flame sailed toward the two of them and they each rolled away but were thrown like dolls by the blast.

"Goku, what're you doing?!" Riku demanded as he scrambled to his feet.

"Making things interesting!" Goku shouted, firing another Mega Flare.

Sora and Riku leapt high into the air, over the flaming orb and landed behind Goku.

"Let's get him!" Riku hissed to Sora. "Give him everything you've got!"

"Right!"

Mega Flare was a spell that Goku invented; if one managed to escape the searing ball of flame, one would do well to not look it its direction due to the blinding flash of light it produced when it burst. Sora had his explosion technique, he had also invented a spell…with a little coaching from Master Makarov, but first, it was time to put Erza's training to use. He dismissed his Kingdom Key, dashed over to Goku, and–without touching his other keychains–summoned the Gullwing. Goku parried his swift diagonal strikes and fired a ki-blast at Riku, who reflected it back at Goku. The senior Keyblade Master suffered a moderate burn to the back, Sora replaced the Gullwing with the Fenrir, and jabbed Goku in the chest, sending him staggering back. He still couldn't summon new weapons quite as fast as Erza could, but it was just fast enough. He couldn't mold his ice into shapes as perfect as Gray's or make his fire as destructive as Natsu's, but he developed a neat little trick of his own after watching them duel. He bounded toward Goku and performed a double spinning-slash. For the first spin, he cloaked his blade in ice and frost, for the second, he shrouded it in flames. Natsu and Gray seemed a little iffy about the idea of mixing fire and ice, but Goku looked intrigued. Sora struck Goku's now dripping Keyblade and sent a surge of lightning up his arm. Goku gave a painful growl and sent Sora tumbling back with another blast of ki. He then whirled around and barely blocked some darkness-infused stabs and chops from Riku, who sent him into the air with Zero Graviga. Sora got up and cast _regular_ Graviga to bring Goku crashing down.

* * *

Kairi watched in awe as Goku and Riku actually gave Goku a run for his money. After being brought back down to the ground by Sora's gravity spell, he got right back up and blew them both away with his aura.

"You've been training with Goku for a while." she said, addressing Lea. "Think they have a chance?"

"Sure," said Lea. "as long as he doesn't give it his all…which we all know he's not gonna."

"Really?"

"Of course not." said King Kai. "After Goku became a master, the only times he ever fought with all his might were when he fought against Xehanort and his followers."

Riku was the first to spring to his feet. He cloaked himself in a dark aura and rocketed toward Goku, who prepared to fend off the oncoming assault when both of them were frozen in place by Sora's stop spell. Sora flung his Keyblade hard at Goku's back and when the stop spell wore off, he felt the force of Sora's blow and was knocked backward by a power-thrust from Riku. Riku unleashed a salvo of dark fireballs while Sora fired a volley of ice-missiles. Goku didn't react fast enough to cast a defensive spell and was brought to his knees just as he got up. Sora and Riku rushed toward Goku, but leapt back as he bolted upward.

"You guys are gonna get it now!" he declared.

"They're finished." Krillin groaned wryly.

Goku lifted his Keyblade above his head and produced a large, translucent gold and black octahedron. Kairi knew this spell, for she had just learned it from King Kai; it was called _Magnet Burst_. Sora and Riku were yanked off the ground by a magnetogravitic force, drawn toward the octahedron, and sent flying when it burst.

"Called it." Krillin remarked.

* * *

Once Sora and Riku's wounds were treated, Goku congratulated them for giving him the best workout he'd had in years. They still had a lot of improving to do though, Sora barely managed to beat Xemnas with Riku's help, and Goku couldn't beat the elderly Xehanort. Fortunately, they already had the perfect training regimen; just keep visiting new worlds and challenging strong opponents. Whether they won or lost, they learned a little from each fight (especially Sora).


	8. Calm Before the Storm

Three days had passed since Riku and Sora's sparring session. Riku returned to Castle Oblivion and scoured it as best he could, hoping that Ansem the Wise or perhaps the organization had left something there that would be useful to him…but the place was deserted save for a busted computer in one of the rooms. As he left the castle, he found someone he was expecting to run into sooner or later standing on the foot of the steps. Unintimidated by the burgeoning fire in her eyes, he coolly descended the steps to meet her face to face.

"Riku…a pleasure to see you again." said Ai, her voice slightly less deathly cold than last time.

"Is that so?" Riku retorted, flexing his hand, ready to summon his Keyblade and smack her with it if she tried anything. "Well, you'll understand if I'm a little on edge."

"Our previous encounter was unfortunate, but I no longer serve the Master of Hell." Ai divulged. "If it is convenient for you, I have another proposition, one that may be more to your liking."

"You're quite the businesswoman, aren't you?" Riku quipped. "Alright, let's hear it."

"Escaping from the Master of Hell is a feat that few can boast, but it will be some time before I am ready to face him again."

"Well, seeing as he's after my soul too, I might be able to help you…" Riku offered. "after I deal with Xehanort, of course."

"I appreciate the offer, but like you, I prefer to fight my own battles." said Ai. "In the meantime, train with me and together we may grow strong enough to defeat our oppressors."

"Sounds good to me." said Riku. "If you don't mind my asking, what do you plan to do after you beat him?"

"When its ruler is dead, Hell will likely be thrown into disarray." Ai explained. "I want no part of that, so after I have released the souls of my family, I will find a world to settle down in until I can no longer maintain my being in the physical realm…perhaps you know of a place where I can hide for the time being?"

After thinking for a moment, Riku replied "There's an abandoned mansion in Twilight Town. The locals believe it's haunted, so they stay away from it. You'd be right at home there; I'll come visit you for a sparring session when I have the time."

"Domo arigato, Riku." said Ai, giving a subtle bow.

Light-years away, Lea had found his way to the Mirage Arena, a so-called "underground intergalactic fighting arena" where fighters were invited from all over the galaxy to fight for various prizes, although there were those such as Lea who just saw it as an expensive, but effective means of getting stronger. His first opponent was Train Heartnet; a silent and stoic (but unmistakably confident) fellow probably around Lea's age. He was incredibly fast and wielded the fancy silver pistol he carried as though it were a part of him. Lea only managed to beat him by taking him by surprise with a burst of fire that formed under the gunslinger's feet. His next opponent was a busty blond bombshell with glistening gold eyes and yellow cat ears named Leone.

"Not gonna lie..." said Lea, admiring Leone's stance (among other things). "I like what I'm seein'."

"Look all you want, prettyboy." She purred, putting her hands on her hips. "But touching's gonna cost you."

* * *

Sora stepped through the shimmering gateway and marched into King Kai's house to answer his summon. King Kai was waiting for him at the dining room table and sitting across from him was Master Makarov.

"Sora..." said King Kai. "have a seat my boy."

"What's going on?" Sora asked, taking his seat in the middle.

"I was so impressed by everything you told me about Master Makarov here, that I decided to pay him a visit." King Kai explained. "We talked about your time in Earthland, your knack for magic, your struggle with the darkness, and your failure during the Mark of Mastery test." he then motioned for Makarov to speak.

"Sora, do you remember what I told you about Tenrou Island?" Makarov asked.

"Sure." said Sora. "You said it's where Fairy Tail's first master's buried."

"That's right." said Makarov. "Tenrou Island is a sacred place. The First Master's spirit made her home there. It's where I take anyone aspiring to become an S-Class wizard and the First Master and King Kai have consented to let me take you there."

"Can your First Master make me strong enough to beat Xehanort?"

"Not exactly..." said Makarov. "but King Kai mentioned the power you retrieved when you unlocked those seven keyholes in the Dream Realm, the power to wake a sleeping heart."

"Yeah, but I lost it when I was under Xehanort's control." said Sora.

"No, my boy." said King Kai. "The power is dormant, but it never leaves you."

"Really?"

"The First Master knows many forms of magic that it takes a lifetime of training to master." said Makarov. "Awakening dormant magic is a skill she recently mastered. If you can convince her that you're physically, mentally, and spiritually capable...she'll help you release your power. Would you be interested?"

"Does a chocobo have a pecker?" Sora exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Course I'm interested! Take me to her!"

"Excellent, lad!" Makarov grinned, standing. "That's just the kind of spirit Master Mavis will want to see! We leave immediately!"


	9. Tenrou island

Sora stood at the front of the ship heading for Tenrou Island with his faithful friend, Gohan at his side. Erza sat at the back of the deck dressed in a sleeveless white collared shirt and a blue pleated skirt chatting with Krillin while Makarov stood at the wheel. As the island came into view, he could see that it was a lot bigger than his, it took a couple hours to walk around his island, but would have likely took half a day to walk around this one. The terrain appeared mostly rocky with some dagger-like cliffs, a few patches of forest here and there, and a titanic tree in the center that almost reached the clouds. The air here was also considerably hotter and more humid than at the Destiny Islands, it probably would have been unbearable for a normal human. Of course, with all of the amazing feats he had performed since obtaining the Kingdom Key, it was hard to believe Sora was still human at all. Only Leon, Cloud, Yusuke, Sephiroth, Erza, and Goku had been able to beat him in a proper fight so far. He only beat Xemnas and the false Ansem because he had help, and if it weren't for Riku (his best friend and eternal rival), he would be in the fold of Xehanort right now. His failures were the biggest (but perhaps not the only) reminder of his humanity, yet the ever-growing darkness in his heart had put his humanity in jeopardy at least three times now. He thought of the way he attacked Xigbar in the cavern at Radiant Garden and almost attacked Edward Elrich. He thought of his feeble attempt to hurt Saïx in his darker permutation at Feudal Japan and the way he almost left Sakura and Syaoran at the mercy of a powerful Heartless so he could eliminate Luxord at Tomoeda. Each day, he could feel his darkness growing a little stronger and a little more restless, like a writhing sea serpent slowly making its way from the depths to the surface. He agreed to undergo this trial so he could reawaken his dormant power…but purging this accursed darkness meant more to him right now.

"Hey, Sora."

Gohan's voice snapped him back to the here and now.

"You haven't been this quiet since before the invasion at Radiant Garden. "Something wrong?"

Gohan was Sora's biggest supporter throughout his first adventure, Sora didn't want to voice his insecurities, but after everything the three of them had been through together, it just wouldn't be right to keep them guessing.

"I just…can't help but feel that…this trial is my last chance, y'know?" he said, running his fingers through his spiky hair.

"You're last chance at what?"

"Ever since I started wielding the Keyblade again…after we woke from our year-long sleep, I mean…I've had this…problem." Sora explained. "The darkness inside me gets out of control and it turns me into something…scary. I feel powerful at first, but when it wears off…I feel so vulnerable. I'm hoping Master Mavis' magic can get whatever this is out of me before something really horrible happens. It's selfish, I know…but this means more to me than getting some new ability."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." said Gohan. "When I was younger, I would lose control of my ki and seriously hurt people who made me angry. The first time was when I was just four years old; an invader tried to take me away from my mom and dad. Dad had finally caught up to him and was about to let him have it when I totally lost it and broke his ribs."

"Damn…" said Sora. "I never would have thought…I mean, you're always so cool...so in control."

"Well, my martial arts training made me the way I am now." said Gohan. "I don't see you going over to the dark side any time soon, but control is something that takes time, you know? No matter who you are."

"But you didn't see me down in the cavern!" Sora persisted. "Edward…the guy I was helping down there said I turned black and had yellow eyes just like a Heartless!"

Gohan was at a loss for words this time. Sora could see it in his eyes; he wanted to say something to comfort him, but couldn't think of anything.

"That darkness is a part of you, Sora."

Sora turned to see Makarov approaching, clad in a simple blue and white robe.

"Even Master Mavis' magic can't simply strip it from you. But I believe there's a more satisfactory solution."

"Really?"

"Yes. Someone else is waiting for you on Tenrou Island…someone who's intimately familiar with the struggle you're facing now. Maybe she can… _ahem_ …put things into perspective for you."

"Who?"

"Oh…you'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Once the ship reached Tenrou Island. Sora was instructed to hop on off and head for one of the waterfalls. He was allowed to take one Hi-Potion and one Ether. He was responsible for eliminating any Heartless that showed themselves, but was asked to avoid harming any of the wildlife as best he could. He began trekking through one of the forests and slashed his way through a band of Powerwilds with the Gullwing (suffering not so much as a scratch).

 _Makarov said this was sacred ground._ Sora thought. _But I guess nothing's sacred to the Heartless._

He felt something brush against his leg, but nothing was there when he looked down, so he presumed it to be one of the island's native creatures and kept walking. He waded through a small wetland and came to a cliffside waterfall where Lucy Heartfilia was waiting for him dressed only in a pink miniskirt and a white bikini top.

"That's as far as you go, Sora!" she declared, jumping from the tall rock she was standing on.

"Oh, yeah?" Sora fired back. "Why's that?"

"The Master promised me an all-expense-paid trip to my favorite spa if I keep you from proceeding, so that's just what I'm gonna do!"

She drew one of the golden keys at her side and in a flash of golden light a man with a somewhat sullen and intensely focused face, black hair, and clad in a brown horse costume appeared armed with a longbow.

"Howdy do, my lady?!" He sounded off, saluting like a loyal cadet.

"Sora, meet Sagittarius!" said Lucy. "Sagittarius, show Sora your stuff!"

"Aye aye, my lady!"

Sagittarius began firing a swarm of arrows at Sora, who darted from tree to tree, taking cover.

"Stand your ground, you lowly dog!" Sagittarius commanded.

He fired an arrow with such force that it tore right through the tree Sora was ducking behind, slicing a few strands of Sora's hair in the process. Sora rolled out from the tree and cast _Reflega_ just as Sagittarius fired one more arrow. The arrow struck Sora's reflective shield and whizzed straight back at Sagittarius, right through the Celestial Spirit's chest.

"Confound it!" he cried as he fell back and dissolved into particles of golden light.

"Your spirit's a pretty good shot, but I've beaten waaaay better!" Sora remarked, thinking back to his fight with Xigbar.

"Act cocky while you can." Lucy growled drawing another of her Zodiac Keys and raising it to the waterfall. There was another flash of golden light and another of Lucy's spirits appeared, he recognized this one as Aquarius.

"No mercy, Aquarius!" said Lucy. "Knock him into next Tuesday!"

"I know how to fight, Lucy!" Aquarius barked as Sora summoned the Fenrir. "So stop telling me what to do!"

Aquarius thrust her vase toward Sora; knowing what was coming, he took a deep breath and plunged the Fenrir's blade deep into the ground as an all-consuming torrent of water crashed into him. All around him, centuries old trees were slowly being torn from the earth, he clung to Fenrir with all his might, but any minute now, he would be swept away...he had to put a barrier of some kind between himself and the water…then he remembered the techniques he invented after sparring with Gray Fullbuster.

 _Freeze!_ he screamed in his head.

A miniature glacier about the size of his seaside shack burst up from the ground between him and Aquarius. He then produced an ice-missile about as long as his arm, floating mere centimeters away from the tip of Fenrir's blade. He thrust the blade into the back of the ice-missile and it broke into six fist-sized missiles that zoomed around the glacier and struck Aquarius from all sides. Fenrir's blade became coated in glistening frost and Sora hopped on top of the glacier, flipped over Lucy and Aquarius' heads and cast his frosty Keyblade into the water spirit's back, trapping her in a shell of ice. He jumped down before Lucy and was about to force her to surrender when he sensed a chilling presence behind him. He whirled around and held Fenrir up in time to parry an overhand chop from…himself! The entity standing before Sora was identical to him in every way, except it was wielding the Gullwing. Before he could question what was happening he could see golden light bathing everything in front of him and both his and his doppelganger's shadows darkening. He leapt high into the air as a flash of brilliant golden light covered the area and when he landed, he could see Lucy flanked by both his doppelganger and the Celestial Spirit called Leo…or "Loke" as he preferred to be called. But it looked like Lucy was breathing rather heavily and she looked somewhat paler. It made sense now…as Sora parried a searing golden orb from Loke and a fireball from his doppelganger (which he now presumed to be Gemini, given the stories Lucy told him.) He realized that Lucy must have expended a lot of energy summoning so many Celestial Spirits.

 _This is it!_ He thought. _I beat Loke and Gemini...and Lucy's finished!_

He ducked as Gemini darted toward him and nearly struck his head. He then grabbed Gemini and whirled them around used them as a shield against a golden beam from Loke. The two (or rather three) of them went flying, but it was Gemini that took the full force of the blast. Sora landed at the base of the waterfall and pointed Fenrir's tip at Loke to launch a _Firaga_ ball, but what blasted out was a ball of nebulous blue fire with an inky black core. Sora realized to his amazement that it was a _Dark Firaga_ …exactly like what Riku used. The dark spell hit Loke dead-center and without thinking, Sora hurled himself at him and began wailing on him. Each blow produced a burst of dark energy from Fenrir's blade and Loke's eyes rolled back as he fell to the mud. Sora lifted Fenrir to strike him again, but froze when he saw his reflection in Loke's glasses. He had a lucid black aura around him. He dropped the Fenrir as Loke vanished and looked to Lucy, whose face had frozen into a mask of pure terror. Her eyes were as big as grapefruits and her cheeks had a faint blue tint. Sora dropped Fenrir and it faded before hitting the ground. He then reached into one of his pouches and took out his Ether.

"Here, Lucy." he sighed. "This'll replenish your magic."

That shook Lucy out of her fear and she shook her head.

"I'll be okay." she said. "You keep it."

"Sorry if I scared you." he said, helping her up.

"Don't sweat it." said Lucy, sounding like her perky self again. "I'm in the same guild as Erza, Juvia, and Gajeel, remember. Anyway, the next part of your trial is in the caves."

Sora thanked Lucy and sipped a little of the Ether on his way back through the wetland, dispatching a quartet of Shadows and another Powerwild along the way. After sipping a little of his Hi-potion as well, he trekked through the forest and around the rocky base of the island. A ball of pale orange flame sailed down at him, and he shielded himself with Fenrir's broad end. A little blue Heartless in a yellow mage's robe floated down with a large spellbook levitating next to it. It waved its tiny hand, one of the pages turned, and three balls of white lightning appeared. Sora however slid under the Heartless before the spell got moving and split it in half with an upward slice and proceeded.

The sun was at its peak when Sora finally reached the bay. He spied an open mouth in the rocky wall which he knew lead to a network of tunnels. Once he made it inside he strolled past a swarm of dancing fireflies and came to a bunch of openings in the cave wall. He stood scratching his chin, contemplating which tunnel he should follow and then he felt it; a powerful, yet passive dark presence. No way was it a Heartless, otherwise it would be moving toward Sora. It was a person…and it was waiting for him. He marched down the tunnel he sensed the dark power emanating from, hoping it was the individual Makarov mentioned and not one of the Seekers of Darkness. He came to a slope leading to a body of water, so he took a deep breath and slid down.

He was able to crawl along the bottom and swim up toward the opposite tunnel with little difficulty despite is heavy Keyblade Wielder's garb, but as he neared the surface, several dozen yellow eyes lit up in the darkness and a writing mass of Shadows snaked its way toward him like a giant black and yellow eel. He summoned the True Light's Flight and tried another _Firaga._ What emerged was a normal _Firaga_ ball with a little darkness swirling around it. It seared its way through the mass of Shadows and dissipated when it broke the water's surface. Once Sora was out of the water, he crept through a thin veil of steam created by his spell and strode through a dark chamber. In the middle of the chamber was a young woman about Erza's age. She wore a casual pink spaghetti-strap dress had long snowy white hair, dark sapphire eyes, and a very serious look on her face. He recognized her as Mirajane Strauss, the elder sister of Elfman Strauss. She once brought Sora a frozen raspberry lemonade after an exhausting sparring session he had with Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox. She inquired if he'd be staying in Earthland for very long and he told her he was thinking about it, but apart from that, he never had much interaction with her. She always carried herself in such a delicate and lady-like way that it was hard to believe that the woman standing before Sora now was really her.

"Welcome to the second part of your trial, Sora." she said in a no-nonsense tone. "If you want to proceed to the third and final part, you have to defeat me. As an S-class wizard, I'm on the same level as Erza, so I suggest you fight with everything you've got."

"If I fight with _everything_ , I might actually kill you." Sora replied, knowing he probably didn't sound very intimidating. "But don't worry, I won't make this easy."

"Good." said Mira, finally smiling, the burning resolve in her eyes not fading. "When you fought Erza, she made a lot of mistakes and you gained the upper hand. To make sure that doesn't happen to me, I'm going to take my most powerful form right now!"

"Most powerful form?"

Mira clenched her fists and a shroud of black fire engulfed her. When it cleared, her silky hair was now a wild, ghostly mane. She wore a tattered, high-collared black cloak over a blue and white bodysuit with clawed steel gauntlets and a piece of gold armor that covered her jaw and ears. A pair of rigged horns extended from the sections of the armor protecting her ears, giving her the appearance of an arch demon of old. A trio of Wyvern Heartless appeared, but the beasts were quickly scorched by a geyser of hellfire as they closed in on Mira.

"They used to call me the She-Devil." she said, in a low growl.

"Heh, yeah…I can see why." Sora remarked, his voice shaking just slightly.

"It took years and years of hard work for me to turn this curse into something good. Let me show you!"

She darted toward him at almost mind-boggling speed, leaving a trail of flames in her path. He tried to flip over her as he'd done with Erza, but she thrust a gauntleted fist upward into his gut and threw him into a wall. He was back on his feet in less time than it took to contemplate and blocked a rippling black beam of energy from Mira. He then hurled the True Light's Flight so fast that it looked like a gray blur. Mira held up her fists to block it, but the force shattered her gauntlets and the Keyblade reappeared in Sora's right hand. He lifted it above his head and a yellow orb appeared just above Mira's. A _Thundaga_ bolt snaked down from it and lit Mira up like a Christmas tree. Sora hurled himself toward her as she staggered, landed blow after blow, and finished it with _Explosion_ …but instead of three orbs of pure white light, it was three orbs of dark purple flame. Mira tumbled backward and lifted one arm, sending a torrent of flame at Sora, who dove to the left, suffering a nasty burn to his right leg. He retaliated by launching a _Blizzaga_ crystal, but it was reduced to vapor less than a foot from Mira's face. She held out both hands and sent two intertwining streams of darkness at Sora. He tried to protect himself with Reflega, but the dark streams tore right through it and hit him dead-center. It was like an ice-cold lance piercing his abdomen and the coldness quickly traveled throughout his body. As he got up, a black haze also began crowding his vision. He could barely see the She-Devil and could barely react as she sped toward him and started pummeling him.

 _What…is…going…on?_ he thought as he held out his Keyblade to strike back at Mira.

Mira grabbed the True Light's Flight's tip, lifted Sora up off the ground, and hurled him into a wall. Sora looked up and when he opened his eyes, he saw the world through a dark, hazy orange veil and what stood before him was nine feet of pitch-black muscle with chiropteran wings, bloody red prongs on its head, and eyes like a pair of polluted suns.

 _Monster…_ he thought. _Kill the monster…kill the monster…KILL THE MONSTER!_

With a snarl, he leapt toward the demon and started slashing at it with his claws. It lifted him up off the ground, so he sunk his fangs into its arm. Blackness crowded his vision and he felt himself being hurled through the air, followed by his whole body being battered and pummeled by countless fists and boots. When the darkness was lifted from him, he was human again and the monster was gone, it was just him and Mira…still in her demonic form. As Mira marched toward him he feebly lifted his arm to summon the True Light's Flight, what manifested instead was a ball of swirling black flame which sailed toward Mira, only to be swatted away.

"I… don't…understand." Sora panted.

He never expected his difficulty with darkness to go away entirely, but he figured after getting stronger, it would become more manageable after a while. Now, it seemed that the darkness had completely ruined him…worn him down to almost nothing. He felt less like the proud warrior he was when he entered the Grand Magic Games and more like a wounded animal.

"I do." said Mira. "It's your inner darkness. You've been fighting to keep it inside and now it's fighting to get out."

"No…" Sora breathed. "That can't happen…not to me."

"We all have darkness inside us, Sora." Mira said slowly. "It's nothing to be afraid of."

"But you don't understand." Sora muttered. "I'm one of the Guardians of Light. I'm not..."

"You're not some pure little angel!" said Mira "You're a warrior…and warriors have to embrace the light and the dark!"

"Master Makarov said you know all about what I'm going through. Is it true?"

"Yes. When I was your age, I felt like a monster because of my powers. I pushed everyone away so they'd never get close enough to see the real me. One day, I was on a job with my brother, Elfman and my sister, Lisanna. We were fighting a giant Heartless and it was too powerful for us. Elfman tried using a full-body takeover spell and it turned him into a monster more terrible than the Heartless. He destroyed it, but also killed Lisanna in the process. I blamed myself, for pushing all my guildmates away when they could have helped…and for being too afraid of hurting Elfman to try and stop him."

Sora stared at Mira, at a loss for words. He never imagined the sweet girl who brought him lemonade could have such a dark and painful past.

"After that, I gave up fighting for some time. I wanted my dark side to go away forever, so I started acting like a perfect little angel…just like my Lisanna and pretended that it never existed. It wasn't until I almost lost Elfman that I brought it out again."

She levitated into the air and conjured an enormous ball of dark energy…almost as big as the Darkside Heartless'.

"You'd be amazed at the things you can do when you don't have a choice!" she shouted, hurling the dark orb down at Sora.

The weakened Keyblade Wielder raised his hands in a feeble attempt to hold the orb at bay, but it quickly engulfed him and he found himself lost in a sea of black and purple, cold, numb, blind, and suffocating. He tried to summon a Keyblade…any Keyblade and a tiny white light with a dark blue haze around it appeared before him. He thought of what Syaoran said about Keyblade wielders being cursed to wander the path of twilight looking for the dawn…he thought of the way Riku wielded darkness, but chose to fight on the side of light…and then he thought of Roxas and the way he wielded the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion.

 _I'm not a Princess of Heart, like Kairi._ he thought. _I'm a warrior…I_ _ **can**_ _control the darkness…I just need a little light to balance it out!_

* * *

Mira looked on in shock and amazement as her dark orb burst into useless black mist. A pillar of searing white light wrapped in tendrils of darkness stood where Sora lay helpless only moments ago.

 _That magic…_ she thought, a shiver running down her spine. _It's similar to Sora's, but it feels like that of a totally different person._

* * *

Gohan, Krillin, Makarov and Erza could also sense the change in Sora.

"Hey, Gohan…you feel that?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah, definitely." said Gohan. "Sora's changed."

"I feel it too." Erza added. "I know it's him but…his power's grown…and there's something else different about him too…something I can't quite put my finger on."

Makarov only folded his arms and smiled.

" _Saints be praised!"_ he thought. _"The lad's done it!"_

* * *

The pillar of light finally dissipated and a whole new Sora stood before Mira's eyes. Not only was he stronger, he was more focused, more alert, he looked as though he could parry anything she threw at him. His black Keyblade wielder's garb was now mostly silver with black arcane runes along the sleeves of his jacket and identical white runes along the leggings covering his breeches. He now held a different Keyblade too; a thick, black one with a hand guard shaped like a pair of demon wings. He took a bottle of blue liquid out of one of his pouches and gulped it all down. She tried firing a Demon Blast at him, but he reflected it right back at her with a wave of his Keyblade. The reflected blast knocked her to the ground but she was back on her feet in an instant.

"Hey, Mira." he said nonchalantly. "Wanna see the spell I invented with a little help from Makarov last time I was here? I was saving it for Xehanort, but now seems like a good time."

Mira was so stunned by Sora's newfound confidence that she could only stare as he conjured a pair of white orbs at the tip of his Keyblade.

"I call it 'Laser Spin!'"

At that instant, the two orbs began spinning counterclockwise and shooting countless bursts of white energy that stung Mira like a swarm of angry hornets. As she shielded her face with her arms, she regretted putting so much energy into that orb. She had enough magic left for maybe one more powerful attack; she was pleased with the change in Sora's attitude, but she had to fight for as long as she was able before yielding the final part of his trial. Ignoring the pain, she lifted her hand and unleashed her Cosmic Beam. Sora's "Laser Spin" spell vanished as he clutched the hilt of his black Keyblade and a sphere of darkness enveloped him, absorbing Mira's beam. The dark sphere then dissipated and Sora spun toward her with his Keyblade wrapped in darkness. The blow sent Mira stumbling back and another spinning strike (this time with the blade wrapped in light) knocked her to the ground. Sora stood patiently, waiting for Mira to get back up, but she didn't…she lay there for a few moments contemplating what to do. Every fight she ever recalled winning was because of brute force and intimidation. With no magic left to spare, her only option was hand-to-hand combat, which would never work against a rejuvenated Sora and it was clear that Sora was not afraid anymore. Mira sighed, returned to her human form, and held out her hand for Sora to help her up. Her job was to test him to the best of her abilities and she'd done so…she had no regrets.

* * *

As Mira instructed, Sora made his way deeper into the cave until he reached a stone obelisk wrapped in vine roots. As he neared it, he could already feel a powerful presence. It was not dark or ominous like Mira's, but had an aura of mystery…like a precious gem that was simply too intricate to comprehend.

 _This has gotta be it…_ Sora thought. _Mavis' grave._

 _Looks like you've found me, young Keyblade Master._

Sora sensed rather than heard the voice…no doubt some kind of telepathy.

 _I sensed you the moment you set foot on this island…I sensed your struggle with your inner darkness…and I saw the way you found balance when fighting Mirajane. To accomplish such a thing at such a young age is truly remarkable. Whatever you came here for…I believe you've earned it._

"Thank you, Master Mavis." said Sora. "There's a special kind of magic in me that's dormant; the power to wake up a sleeping heart. Please, could you release it for me?"

 _I'm not sure if I can…but I'll try._ Mavis transmitted. _Please summon your Keyblade._

Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and lowered his defenses, placing himself entirely in Mavis' ethereal hands.

* * *

Erza stood in the same spot she'd been standing in since she felt the incredible change in Sora's magic. She found it odd how Krillin and Gohan could be acting so carefree right now as they drank and chatted with the others, they seemed to have a great deal of confidence in him…perhaps as much as she had in Natsu. Suddenly, she noticed something silver in the brush. She gasped as Sora stepped into the sunshine clad in a silver and black version of his Keyblade Wielder's garb.

"Hey, guys!" she called back at the ship. "He's here!"

Gohan, Krillin, Mira, Lucy and Master Makarov hopped off the ship and marveled at the new and improved Sora.

"How's it feel?" Krillin asked as Sora approached.

"Like I could take on an entire empire of evil myself!" said Sora with the confident smirk that everyone on Earthland had grown so fond of.

"I know you aren't a member…as much as I'd love to have you…but why don't you come back to the guild hall with us so we can celebrate?" The Master proposed.

"Love to." Sora replied. "But I still have a job to do and there's no time to lose. Just tell everyone that I'll be back some day."

After shaking hands with the Master and getting hugs from lucy, Mira, and Erza, Sora summoned a white Keyblade with a rainbow-colored tooth and an angel wing-shaped hand guard. He opened a keyhole-shaped portal from him, Krillin, and Gohan to step through. They turned around for one last wave before the portal closed and Erza found herself feeling somewhat glum. Sora had such innocence to him, such a radiance and Erza was really going to miss him.


End file.
